Improvements in NYC Building Energy Efficiency

NEW York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has announced new mandates that will force building owners to make sharp reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. The new rules will compel owners to meet fossil fuel caps – requiring deeper energy efficiency upgrades on an accelerated 2030 timeframe – with sharp penalties for failure to comply.

“Time is not on our side,” said Mayor de Blasio. “New York will continue to step up and make critical changes to help protect our city and prevent the worst effects of climate change. We must shed our buildings’ reliance on fossil fuels here and now. To do this, we are mandating upgrades to increase the energy efficiency of our buildings, helping us continue to honour the goals of the Paris Agreement. No matter what happens in Washington, we will not shirk our responsibility to act on climate in our own backyard.”

When President Trump announced the US would abandon the Paris Climate Agreement earlier this year, the Mayor pledged New York City would adhere to the treaty and accelerate its own actions to reach the 80% reduction in emissions by the 2050 target. Fossil fuels used for heat and hot water in buildings are the city’s single largest source of greenhouse gas emissions.

The mandates announced today frontload the most dramatic reductions into the coming decade, and are the first step New York City must take to help hold global temperature increases to just 1.5 degrees Celsius and avoid the most disastrous effects of climate change.

Mandated fossil fuel caps will apply to all buildings over 25,000 square feet and will trigger replacement of fossil fuel equipment and efficiency upgrades in the worst-performing 14,500 buildings, which together produce 24 percent of the city’s total greenhouse gas emissions.

In order to meet these targets, building owners will make improvements to boilers, heat distribution, hot water heaters, roofs and windows, requiring deeper changes during their replacement or refinancing cycles over the next 12 to 17 years.
The new targets will reduce total citywide greenhouse emissions 7% by 2035, the single largest step yet was taken to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, equivalent to taking 900,000 cars off the road, and spur 17,000 green jobs performing building retrofits. The plan will be enacted via legislation, backed by the administration and sponsored by Council Member Costa Constantinides.